Ivan Ivanov was knocked out in the quarterfinals of the hard-court tennis tournament in Vale do Lobo, Portugal. The 18-year-old from Varna, seeded No. 7 in the main draw, lost to Russia's Pavel Lagutin 1-6, 6-2, 6-7(9) in a closely contested match.
The competition is part of the International Tennis Federation's M25 series and offers a prize fund of 30,000 dollars. Lagutin, who is ranked 390th in the world, secured victory after turning the match around and following a dramatic conclusion in the deciding tiebreak.
Ivanov made a difficult start to the match and fell 0-4 behind. The Bulgarian was unable to find an answer to his opponent's strong play, as Lagutin controlled the rallies and closed out the first set 6-1.
In the second set, the player from Varna changed the rhythm of his play and took a 3-1 lead. Ivanov continued to put Lagutin under pressure and, in the closing stages, won three consecutive games to level the match at 6-2.
The decisive third set produced an evenly matched battle. Lagutin broke Ivanov's serve to take a 4-2 lead, but the Bulgarian immediately broke back. The two players then held their serves and reached a tiebreak.
There, Ivanov reached match point at 6-5, but was unable to close out the match. Lagutin responded with several strong rallies and earned three opportunities to finish the contest. The Bulgarian saved them, but the Russian converted his fourth match point and won the tiebreak 11-9.
Ivanov thus ends his singles campaign in Vale do Lobo after two victories. Before the quarterfinal, he defeated home representative João Domingues in three sets.